anyone want to chat about the 2-1 nap switch?

[*Kimberly*]

So today Brendan woke up at 6am again!  I thought we were going to have another bad day but he just went down for his nap at noon.  He seemed great the whole morning and went to sleep within 5 minutes.  Hopefully he will sleep for a couple of hours and have a good afternoon too.  We'll see how this turns out for him.   

[M and N's Mom]

Thanks for all your advice.  He did FINALLY go to sleep at 11:15 (I got him up for 20 mins and then tried again).  I only left him for 25 mins and then only gave him 2h A time before his pm nap.  Had to wake him at the 1.75h mark in order to preserve bedtime.

He doesn't handle long enough A time to go to 1 nap completely so I knew I needed to get that catnap in somehow.

Stacy, yes he still cries and puts up a fuss before many sleep times.  Some are better than others.  Usually it is just a loud mantra.

Thanks everyone...hopefully tomorrow is better.

[BabyBsMommy]

As we were transitioning, we did much as Stacy did - offered a short AM nap at 10:00 am and got him out of bed at 10:45 regardless of when he fell asleep (if he did fall asleep, it usually ended up being around 10:15 so he got a half hour nap) - he slowly moved towards one nap as he began to not go to sleep in the 45 min offered in the morning more and more often.  I figured that at least he had a "rest" time in there, though.  Now that he's on one nap, we still do a "rest" time in the morning but it's sitting and watching 20 min of a BE video or of reading stories in my lap with a snack to give some downtime from all of the running around he does the rest of the A time.  I'm interested to see if he is more tired once the nicer weather hits and he's out in the fresh air more often.
The one nap is still going strong - usually sleeps from 12:30-3:00, sometimes a bit shorter or longer, and is in bed at 7:45 at night, asleep around 8pm.  He was sleeping until 7:30 but suddenly started to get up closer to 7.  We thought it may be the beginning of early wakings from the one nap until DH discovered this morning that the cats are going in there shortly before 7 and running around in there.  We put the little bottle we use to spray water at them when they scratch at things at the door to his room (which they hate) and hopefully that will keep them out or else we'll have to start shutting his door tight which stinks in the summer because even with the air conditioning on, it gets pretty muggy in there if the door is shut.

[KathrynK]

hello everyone
I've not posted on this thread before but it seems today is the day! dd refused her morning nap for the first time- aaargh. For the last few months we have been trimming her morning nap- she now has 20 mins in the morning- and keeping her afternoon nap at 1.5hrs. Last week at daycare (she goes 2 days per week) she refused her morning nap both days but I thought it might be just because she's really nosey, lol. Anyway it seems not, we have officially started the 2-1 nap switch as even at home with mummy today she didn't want a nap! It's now 12 noon and she has just gone to sleep having had an early lunch. So I guess I'll just wait and see how long she sleeps........
I guess this all means I am officially a member of the 2-1 club 

[BabyBsMommy]

Welcome!  We'll all help you through it the best we can!  My DS has been on one nap for about 4 weeks now and still going strong!

[M and N's Mom]

I need help again ladies  

Here's yesterday and today:

7am Wake
10:00 - 30 min nap (went back to this from 25 as he seemed overtired)
2.5h A time
1:00 nap - took a few minutes to get to sleep
2:00 Awake but not happy (won't go back to sleep)

Yesterday he slept for 15mins in the stroller at 5:30 and I guess I'll have to do the same today.

What am I missing    

[KathrynK]

hello
I haven't read all of your previous posts so forgive me if I am way wrong, but is 2.5 hrs between naps long enough? Maybe he's just not tired enough to sleep for more than 1 hr. At 13 months lo would have 30 min nap in the morning and then easily do 3.5hrs A time before nap 2. Just a suggestion.
Anyway having joined this thread earlier today, thought I'd update you on our first day as a member of the 1-2 club..... DISASTER! lo went down easily at 12 noon for her nap and 37 minutes later pooed herself awake. Once that lady is awake, she is awake and nothing is going to get her back to sleep. She looked knackered so we went for a big long walk for 1 hr hoping she would fall asleep in her stroller- nope. I put her back down at 3.20pm and left her chatting and shouting for me until 4 when I got her up again. Put her to bed at 6.15 and she went out like a light. My stress levels have been way high all day- she is always such a great sleeper I don't do well with this kind of day!
Man oh man is this what I have to look forward to for the next couple of months? {sigh}

[M and N's Mom]

I haven't read all of your previous posts so forgive me if I am way wrong, but is 2.5 hrs between naps long enough? Maybe he's just not tired enough to sleep for more than 1 hr. At 13 months lo would have 30 min nap in the morning and then easily do 3.5hrs A time before nap 2. Just a suggestion.

But if he wasn't tired enough, wouldn't he wake up happier?

[M and N's Mom]

Thanks again ...guess we'll try stretching that middle A time tomorrow.

Six months, huh Stacy?  My DD made the transition in a couple of weeks - guess I couldn't get that lucky twice, lol!

[luvmykiki]

Hi all,

I think I'm new to this thread.  I'm confused about my 18month olds napping and had a couple of WWYD questions.  I recently resolved major nightwaking issues and my LO is now sleeping through the night for pretty much the first time ever in her life.  She had been taking a 1.5 hr nap in am and pm.  Within the last week (sleeping through night for about 2wks now) she's started to delay the am nap by not falling asleep at the usual 9:30 time ... now closer to 10:30 and staying asleep for 2-2.5hrs and then not afternoon napping.  It's crazy and she's exhausted by bedtime. 
Here's what the past few days have looked like

6AM awake
10:30-12:30ish nap
7PM bedtime

She will not 'catnap' in the afternoon..I don't think!  She's very tired at the end of the day and I think she's having trouble falling asleep for the night as a result.  Any suggestions??? In the past (not recently) I've tried waking her early from am nap and that has backfired big-time---> almost every time I've done it (maybe total 6 or 7 times) she would not nap in the afternoon and, so, nightmare.

Advice??
Thank you!!
~Susan

[debo620]

Susan,

Could you stick with your current routine but maybe do some "rest" time out in the stroller at 4pm or something, or move bedtime up til 6:30pm (if she'll sleep a little longer at night).
Eventually, you could push that 10:30am nap out by 15min every few days until it is occuring 11:30-1:30, perhaps offering some rest time in her crib at 9/9:30am would help delay the main nap.

[luvmykiki]

Thanks for the reply, Deborah.  This is basically what I've been doing.... She hasn't fallen asleep but I've been taking her out in the stroller or car around 4-5ish each day thinking maybe she'll catch a catnap.  Oh well!  I do put her in the crib for nap somewhere around 9/9:30 and she has been goofing around for an hour or so before falling asleep for ~2hrs.  Anyhow, she seems so tired at 9/9:30ish....coming up to me and resting her head on my lap and stuff, rubbing her eyes and yawning; then, into the crib and reading/playing for loooong time!  I give up! again!
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!
~Susan

[KathrynK]

Hi Susan
this is just what my dd has started to do- look really tired at 9.30 and then when she goes down for a nap she is wide awake again! Grrrrrr. As your lo is sleeping for 2 hrs I would go with Deb's advice and push it a bit later every day and go for lots of early nights in the meantime.
We had a total disaster again today- lo was at daycare. They tried her for a morning nap as usual- she just lays there waving at the other babies in their cots, shouting "hiya", lol. So they waited until after lunch to put her down again by which time she was overtired and slept for 20 mins. Oh for goodness sake. That was her done for the day so dh put her in bed at 6 tonight, so I didn't get to see her when I got home from work 
She's back there again tomorrow so we'll see what happens........

[BabyBsMommy]

Ugh!  I just posted and it disappeared!  I'll try again!

M and Ns Mom - Could it be overtiredness?  Maybe try offering the nap at 12:30.  If that doesn't work, slowly move it back in 5 min increments (12:35, 12:40) until you find the sweet spot?  When Ds was taking the 30 min AM nap, he wouldn't go down until 3.5 hours afterwards, so it could also be that he isn't tired enough so if an earlier time continues to backfire you could also try moving it later in 15 min increments.  I would try to move it earlier first, though, in case it is overtiredness.

kathrynk - I had to laugh at the poop only because the first few days of one nap, DS woke himself up after less than an hour with the same issue.  We call them "nap bombs" because when one comes during nap time, it completely destroys any chance of a nap.  Give it a few days before you change things up - I found it was a good week or so before the nap stretched out and the bombs stopped, lol.  During the first part of the transition, there were a few days where he still needed a short AM nap so we just did it if we had to.  Like Stacy, refusing one of the two naps started to become a problem for week or so stretches off and on around 11 months but we didn't successfully  make the switch until 14 months (about 4 weeks ago).  We found a walk or car ride in the afternoon gave a bit of a rest time when he would refuse the PM nap.  Even now that he is on one nap, we give a rest time about 3 hours into his morning A time where we either sit and read stories or watch a Baby Einstein video for 20 min or so with a snack just to give him some time to slow down and recharge.  We usually do an outing or walk in the hour or so before dinner to help him get through the second A time stretch before bedtime.

Susan - I think you will likely have to try to push back the AM nap slowly and just at least offer the chance for a snooze in the afternoon.  Maybe let the AM go as long as it can go and then put her down for a catnap and give an half hour to try to go to sleep as long as she isn't screaming.  If she doesn't go down, go for a walk or a little outing to at least give her some downtime.  This will hopefully help her until the transition is done but it will probably be rocky for a while.

Susan -

[Zoey]

hello gals - just popping by to report where we are at in this adventure - maybe itll help someone.  At the moment we are doing;

7am wake
1030am nap 20m
1pm nap whatever - usually 2-2.5h
730pm bedtime

my hope is to keep pushing that am nap later (we began at 930) and bring the pm nap up until they meet making a nice, happy, luxurious nap - my hopes are that it begins at 1230-1pm.

Zoe